7.  The applicant was born in 1972 and lives in Diyarbakır.
8.  The applicant’s mother married A.O. in a religious ceremony. In 1990 the applicant and H.O., A.O.’s son, started a relationship and began living together. They officially married on 12 November 1995. They had three children, in 1993, 1994 and 1996. The applicant and H.O. had heated arguments from the outset of their relationship. The facts set out below were not disputed by the Government.
9.  On 10 April 1995 the applicant and her mother filed a complaint with the Diyarbakır Public Prosecutor’s Office, alleging that H.O. and A.O had been asking them for money, and had beaten them and threatened to kill them. They also alleged that H.O. and his father wanted to bring other men home.
10.  On the same day, the applicant and her mother were examined by a doctor. The applicant’s medical report noted bruises on her body, an ecchymosis and swelling on her left eyebrow and fingernail scratches on the neck area. The medical report on the applicant’s mother also noted bruises and swellings on her body. On 20 April 1995 definitive reports were issued, which confirmed the findings of the first report and stated that the injuries in question were sufficient to render both the applicant and her mother unfit to work for five days.
11.  On 25 April 1995 the public prosecutor lodged indictments against H.O. and A.O. for death threats and actual bodily harm. On 15 June 1995 the Diyarbakır First Magistrate’s Court discontinued the assault case, as the applicant and her mother had withdrawn their complaints and had thereby removed the basis for the proceedings under Article 456 § 4 of the Criminal Code.
12.  On 11 September 1995 the Diyarbakır Second Magistrate’s Court also acquitted the defendants of making death threats on account of the lack of evidence, and again discontinued the assault case, noting that it had been previously heard by the Diyarbakır First Magistrate’s Court.
13.  On 11 April 1996, during an argument, H.O. beat the applicant very badly. The medical report drawn up on that occasion recorded surface bleeding on the applicant’s right eye, bleeding on her right ear, an ecchymosis on her left shoulder and back pain. The report concluded that the applicant’s injuries were sufficient to endanger her life. On the same day, at the request of the public prosecutor and by a decision of a single judge, H.O. was remanded in custody.
14.  On 12 April 1996 the public prosecutor filed a bill of indictment with the Diyarbakır Criminal Court, accusing H.O. of aggravated bodily harm under Articles 456 § 2 and 457 § 1 of the Criminal Code.
15.  On 15 April 1996 H.O. filed a petition with the Presidency of the First Magistrate’s Court, requesting his release pending trial. He explained that during an argument with his wife he had become angry and had slapped his wife two or three times. Then his mother-in-law, who worked at a hospital, had obtained a medical report for his wife and that report had led to his detention for no reason. He stated that he did not want to lose his family and business and that he regretted beating his wife.
16.  On 16 April 1996 the Second Magistrate’s Court dismissed H.O.’s request for release pending trial and decided that his pre-trial detention should be continued.
17.  At the hearing on 14 May 1996, the applicant repeated her complaint. The public prosecutor requested that H.O. be released pending trial, considering the nature of the offence and the fact that the applicant had regained full health. Consequently, the court released H.O.
18.  At a hearing of 13 June 1996, the applicant withdrew her complaint, stating that she and her husband had made their peace.
19.  On 18 July 1996 the court found that the offence fell under Article 456 § 4 of the Criminal Code, for which the applicant’s complaint was required in order to pursue the proceedings. It accordingly discontinued the case on the ground that the applicant had withdrawn her complaint.
20.  On 5 February 1998 the applicant, her mother, her sister and H.O. had a fight, in the course of which H.O. pulled a knife on the applicant. H.O., the applicant and her mother sustained injuries. The medical reports certified injuries which rendered them unfit to work for seven, three and five days respectively.
21.  On 6 March 1998 the public prosecutor decided not to prosecute anyone in respect of this incident. He concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute H.O. in connection with the knife assault, and that the other offences such as battery and damage to property could be the subject of civil lawsuits. There was thus no public interest in pursuing the case.
22.  The applicant went to stay with her mother.
23.  On 4 March 1998 H.O. ran a car into the applicant and her mother. The applicant’s mother was found to be suffering from life-threatening injuries. At the police station, H.O. maintained that the incident had been an accident. He had only wished to give the applicant and her mother a lift, which they had refused before they continued walking. They had then thrown themselves in front of the car. The applicant’s mother alleged that H.O. had told them to get into his car and that he would kill them if they refused. Since they did not want to get into the car and had started running away, H.O. had driven his car into the applicant, who had fallen. While the applicant’s mother tried to help her daughter, H.O. reversed and then drove forward, this time into the mother. The applicant’s mother regained consciousness in hospital. In her statements to the police the applicant confirmed her mother’s statements and alleged that her husband had tried to kill them with his car.
24.  On 5 March 1998 a single judge at the Diyarbakır Magistrate’s Court remanded H.O. in custody.
25.  On 19 March 1998 the public prosecutor initiated criminal proceedings against H.O. in the Diyarbakır Third Criminal Court for making death threats and inflicting grievous bodily harm. On the same day the Forensic Medicine Institute submitted a medical report which noted grazes on the applicant’s knees. The report concluded that the applicant’s injuries rendered her unfit to work for five days.
26.  On 20 March 1998 the applicant brought divorce proceedings against H.O. on the grounds that they had intense disagreements, that he was evading his responsibilities as a husband and a father, that he was mistreating her (as proved by medical reports), and that he was bringing other women to their home. The applicant submits that she later dropped the divorce case due to threats and pressure from her husband.
27.  On 2 April 1998 the applicant and her mother filed a petition with the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, asking for protective measures from the authorities subsequent to the death threats issued by H.O. and his father.
28.  On 2 and 3 April 1998 police officers took statements from the applicant, her mother, her brother and the latter’s wife as well as H.O. and his father. The applicant and her mother stated that H.O. had attempted to kill them with his car and that he had threatened to kill them if the applicant did not return to H.O. They noted that the applicant had already commenced divorce proceedings and that she did not want to return to live with H.O. The applicant’s brother and his wife alleged that the applicant was discouraged by her mother from going back to her husband and that they knew nothing about the threats issued by H.O. and his father. H.O. contended that his only intention was to bring his family together, but that his mother-in-law was preventing this. He also alleged that he had gone to the applicant’s brother and family elders for help, but to no avail. He maintained that he had never threatened the applicant or her mother and that their allegations were slanderous. H.O.’s father maintained that the applicant’s mother wanted her daughter to divorce H.O. and to marry somebody else.
29.  In a report dated 3 April 1998, the Director of the Law and Order Department of the Diyarbakır Security Directorate informed the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of the outcome of the investigation into the allegations made by the applicant and her mother. He concluded that the applicant had left her husband and gone to live with her mother. H.O.’s repeated requests for the return of his wife had been turned down by the applicant’s mother and the latter had insulted H.O. and made allegations that H.O. had issued death threats against her. H.O. had spent twenty-five days in prison for running a car into his mother-in-law and, following his release, had asked a number of mediators to convince his wife to return home. However, the mother did not allow the applicant to go back to H.O. Both parties had issued threats against each other. Furthermore, the mother had wished to separate her daughter from H.O. in order to take revenge on her ex-husband, had constantly made slanderous allegations and had also “wasted” the security forces’ time.
30.  On 14 April 1998 the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor indicted H.O. and his father A.O. and charged them with issuing death threats against the applicant and her mother, contrary to Article 188 § 1 of the Criminal Code.
31.  On 30 April 1998 the Diyarbakır Criminal Court released H.O. pending trial. It further declared that it had no jurisdiction over the case and sent the file to the Diyarbakır Assize Court.
32.  On 11 May 1998 the Assize Court classified the offence as attempted murder. During the hearing of 9 July 1998, H.O. repeated that the incident had been an accident; the car door was open, and had accidentally hit the complainants when he moved the car. The applicant and her mother confirmed H.O.’s statement and maintained that they no longer wished to continue the proceedings.
33.  On 23 June 1998 the Diyarbakır Assize Court acquitted H.O. and his father of the charges of issuing death threats, for lack of sufficient evidence. The court noted that the accused had denied the allegations and the complainants had withdrawn their complaints. The applicant again resumed living with H.O.
34.  On 9 July 1998 the applicant’s mother was given another medical examination, which found that her injuries were not life-threatening but were sufficient to render her unfit for work for twenty-five days.
35.  At the hearing of 8 October 1998 the applicant and her mother withdrew their complaints. They stated that the car door had been open and that H.O. had accidentally hit them. When questioned about their complaints against H.O., the applicant and her mother stated that they had had a fight with H.O. and that they had made those allegations in anger.
36.  On 17 November 1998 the Diyarbakır Assize Court concluded that the case should be discontinued in respect of the offence against the applicant, as she had withdrawn her complaint. However, it decided that, although the applicant’s mother had also withdrawn her complaint, H.O. should still be convicted of that offence, since the injuries were more serious. Subsequently, the court sentenced H.O. to three months’ imprisonment and a fine; the sentence of imprisonment was later commuted to a fine.
37.  On 29 October 2001 the applicant went to visit her mother. Later that day H.O. telephoned and asked the applicant to return home. The applicant, worried that her husband would again be violent towards her, said to her mother “this man is going to tear me to pieces!” The applicant’s mother encouraged the applicant to return home with the children. Three-quarters of an hour later one of the children went back, saying that his father had stabbed and killed his mother. The applicant’s mother rushed to the applicant’s house. She saw that the applicant was lying on the floor bleeding. With the help of neighbours, she put the applicant into a taxi and took her to the Diyarbakır State Hospital. The hospital authorities told her that the applicant’s condition was serious and transferred her to the Dicle University Hospital, which was better equipped. The medical report on the applicant noted seven knife injuries on different parts of her body. However, the injuries were not classified as life-threatening.
38.  At about 11.30 p.m. on the same day, H.O. handed himself in at a police station. The police confiscated the knife which he had used during the incident. H.O. maintained that his wife and children were still not at home when he came back at 6 p.m. He had telephoned them and asked them to come back. On their return, he asked the applicant, “Why are you wandering outside? Why haven’t you cooked anything for me?” The applicant replied, “We ate at my mother’s”, and brought him a plate of fruit. They continued arguing. He told her, “Why are you going to your mother so often? Don’t go there so much, stay at home and look after the children!” The argument escalated. At some point, the applicant attacked him with a fork. They started fighting, during which he lost control, grabbed the fruit knife and stabbed her; he did not remember how many times. He claimed that his wife was bigger than him, so he had to respond when she attacked him. He added that his wife was not a bad person and that they had lived together peacefully until two years previously. However, they started fighting when the applicant’s mother began interfering with their marriage. He stated that he regretted what he had done. H.O. was released after his statement had been taken.
39.  On 31 October 2001 the applicant’s mother’s lawyer petitioned the Diyarbakır Public Prosecutor’s Office. In her petition, she stated that the applicant’s mother had told her that H.O. had beaten her daughter very badly about five years earlier, after which he was arrested and detained. However, he was released at the first hearing. She maintained that her client and the applicant had been obliged to withdraw their complaints due to continuing death threats and pressure from H.O. She further stated that there was hearsay about H.O. being involved in trafficking women. Finally, she referred to the incident of 4 March 1998 (see paragraph 23 above), arguing that, following such a serious incident, H.O.’s release was morally damaging and requested that he be detained on remand.
40.  On 2 November 2001 the applicant’s lawyer filed an objection with the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against the medical report of the Dicle Medical Faculty Hospital, which had concluded that the applicant’s injuries were not life-threatening. The lawyer requested a new medical examination.
41.  On 9 November 2001 the applicant filed a petition with the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, complaining that she had been stabbed many times by H.O. subsequent to an argument with him. She asked the public prosecutor to send her to the Forensic Institute for a new medical examination.
42.  On 8 November 2001 the applicant underwent a new medical examination at the Forensic Institute in Diyarbakır on the instructions of the public prosecutor. The forensic medical doctor noted the presence of wounds caused by a knife on the left-hand wrist (3 cm long), on the left hip (5 cm deep), another 2 cm-deep wound on the left hip and a wound just above the left knee. He opined that these injuries were not life-threatening but would render the applicant unfit for work for seven days.
43.  On 12 December 2001 the public prosecutor filed a bill of indictment with the Diyarbakır Magistrate’s Court, charging H.O. with knife assault under Articles 456 § 4 and 457 § 1 of the Criminal Code.
44.  By a criminal decree of 23 May 2002, the Diyarbakır Second Magistrate’s Court imposed a fine of 839,957,040 Turkish liras (TRL) on H.O for the knife assault on the applicant. It decided that he could pay this fine in eight instalments.
45.  On 14 November 2001 the applicant lodged a criminal complaint with the Diyarbakır Public Prosecutor’s Office, alleging that H.O. had been threatening her.
46.  On 11 March 2002 the public prosecutor decided that there was no concrete evidence to prosecute H.O. apart from the allegations made by the applicant.
47.  On 19 November 2001 the applicant’s mother filed a complaint with the public prosecutor. In her petition, she stated that H.O., A.O. and their relatives had been consistently threatening her and her daughter. In particular, H.O. told her, “I am going to kill you, your children and all of your family!” He was also harassing her and invading her privacy by wandering around her property carrying knives and guns. She maintained that H.O. was to be held liable should an incident occur involving her and her family. She also referred to the events of 29 October 2001, when the applicant was stabbed by him (see paragraph 37 above). In response to this petition, on 22 November 2002, the public prosecutor wrote a letter to the Security Directorate in Diyarbakır and asked them to take statements from the complainant and H.O. and to submit an investigation report to his office.
48.  In the meantime, on 14 December 2001 the applicant again initiated divorce proceedings in the Diyarbakır Civil Court.
49.  On 23 December 2001 the police took statements from H.O. in relation to the applicant’s mother’s allegations. He denied the allegations against him and claimed that his mother-in-law, who had been interfering with his marriage and influencing his wife to lead an immoral life, had issued threats against him. The police took further statements from the applicant’s mother on 5 January 2002. She claimed that H.O. had been coming to her doorstep every day, showing a knife or shotgun and threatening to kill her, her daughter and her grandchildren.
50.  On 10 January 2002 H.O. was charged under Article 191 § 1 of the Criminal Code with making death threats.
51.  On 27 February 2002 the applicant’s mother submitted a further petition to the Diyarbakır Public Prosecutor’s Office. She maintained that H.O.’s threats had intensified. H.O., together with his friends, had been harassing her, threatening her and swearing at her on the telephone. She stated that her life was in immediate danger and requested that the police tap her telephone and take action against H.O. On the same day, the public prosecutor instructed the Directorate of Turkish Telecom in Diyarbakır to submit to his office a list of all the numbers which would call the applicant’s mother’s telephone line over the following month. In the absence of any response, the public prosecutor repeated his request on 3 April 2002.
52.  On 16 April 2002 the Diyarbakır Magistrate’s Court questioned H.O. in relation to his knife assault on his mother-in-law. He repeated the statement he had made to the police, adding that he did not wish his wife to visit her mother, as the mother had been pursuing an immoral life.
53.  The applicant had been living with her mother since the incident of 29 October 2001.
54.  On an unspecified date the applicant’s mother made arrangements with a removal company to move her furniture to İzmir. H.O. learned of this and allegedly said, “Wherever you go, I will find and kill you!”. Despite the threats, on 11 March 2002 the furniture was loaded onto the removal company’s pick-up truck. The pick-up truck made two trips between the company’s transfer centre and the house. On its third trip, the applicant’s mother asked the driver whether she could drive with him to the transfer centre. She sat on the front seat, next to the driver. On their way, a taxi pulled up in front of the truck and started signalling. The pick-up driver, thinking that the taxi driver was going to ask for an address, stopped. H.O. got out of the taxi. He opened the front door where the applicant’s mother was sitting, shouted something like, “Where are you taking the furniture?” and shot her. The applicant’s mother died instantly.
55.  On 13 March 2002 the Diyarbakır Public Prosecutor filed an indictment with the Diyarbakır Assize Court, accusing H.O. of intentional murder under Article 449 § 1 of the Criminal Code.
56.  In his statements to the police, the public prosecutor and the court, H.O. claimed that he had killed the applicant’s mother because she had induced his wife to lead an immoral life, like her own, and had encouraged his wife to leave him, taking their children with her. He further alleged that on the day of the incident, when he asked the deceased where she was taking the furniture and where his wife was, the deceased had replied “F... off, I will take away your wife, and sell [her]”. He stated that he had lost his temper and had shot her for the sake of his honour and children.
57.  In a final judgment dated 26 March 2008, the Diyarbakır Assize Court convicted H.O. of murder and illegal possession of a firearm. It sentenced him to life imprisonment. However, taking into account the fact that the accused had committed the offence as a result of provocation by the deceased and his good conduct during the trial, the court mitigated the original sentence, changing it to fifteen years and ten months’ imprisonment and a fine of 180 Turkish liras (TRY). In view of the time spent by the convict in pre-trial detention and the fact that the judgment would be examined on appeal, the court ordered the release of H.O.
58.  The appeal proceedings are still pending before the Court of Cassation.
59.  In a petition dated 15 April 2008, the applicant filed a criminal complaint with the Kemalpaşa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in İzmir, for submission to the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, and asked the authorities to take measures to protect her life. She noted that her ex‑husband[1], H.O., had been released from prison and that in early April he had gone to see her boyfriend M.M., who worked at a construction site in Diyarbakır, and had asked him about her whereabouts. Since M.M. refused to tell him her address, H.O. threatened him and told him that he would kill him and the applicant. The applicant claimed that H.O. had already killed her mother and that he would not hesitate to kill her. She had been changing her address constantly so that H.O. could not find her. Finally, she asked the prosecuting authorities to keep her address, indicated on the petition, and her boyfriend’s name confidential and to hold H.O. responsible if anything untoward happened to her or her relatives.
60.  On 14 May 2008 the applicant’s representative informed the Court that the applicant’s husband had been released from prison and that he had again started issuing threats against the applicant. She complained that no measures had been taken despite the applicant’s request. She therefore asked the Court to request the Government to provide sufficient protection.
61.  In a letter dated 16 May 2008, the Registry transmitted the applicant’s request to the Government for comments and invited them to inform the Court of the measures to be taken by their authorities.
62.  On 26 May 2008 the Director of the International Law and Relations Department attached to the Ministry of Justice faxed a letter to the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in relation to the applicant’s complaints to the European Court of Human Rights. He informed the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of the applicant’s pending application before the Court and asked them to provide information on the current state of execution of H.O.’s sentence, the state of proceedings with regard to the applicant’s criminal complaint filed with the Kemalpaşa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in İzmir and the measures taken to protect the applicant’s life.
63.  On the same day, a public prosecutor from the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office wrote to the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office and asked him to take measures for the protection of the applicant.
64.  By a letter of 28 May 2008 from the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to the Şehitler Central Police Directorate in Diyarbakır, the Public Prosecutor (A.E.) asked the police to summon H.O. to his office in relation to an investigation.
65.  On 29 May 2008 A.E. questioned H.O. in relation to the criminal complaint filed by the applicant. H.O. denied the allegation that he had issued threats against the applicant and claimed that she had made such allegations in order to disturb him following his release from prison. He maintained that he did not feel any enmity towards the applicant and that he had devoted himself to his family and children.
66.  On 3 June 2008 A.E. took statements from the applicant’s boyfriend, M.M. The latter stated that H.O. had called him and asked him for the applicant’s address, and had told him that he would kill her. M.M. did not meet H.O. Nor did he file a criminal complaint against H.O. He had, however, called the applicant and informed her about the threats issued by H.O.
67.  In a letter dated 20 June 2008, the Government informed the Court that the applicant’s husband had not yet served his sentence but that he had been released pending the appeal proceedings in order to avoid exceeding the permissible limit of pre-trial detention. They also stated that the local governor’s office and the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had been informed about the applicant’s complaint and that they had been instructed to take precautions for the protection of the applicant.
68.  Finally, on 14 November 2008 the applicant’s legal representative informed the Court that his client’s life was in immediate danger since the authorities had still not taken any measures to protect her from her former husband. The Registry of the Court transmitted this letter on the same day to the Government, inviting them to provide information about the measures they had taken to protect the applicant.
69.  On 21 November 2008 the Government informed the Court that the police authorities had taken specific measures to protect the applicant from her former husband. In particular, the photograph and fingerprints of the applicant’s husband had been distributed to police stations in the region so that they could arrest him if he appeared near the applicant’s place of residence. The police questioned the applicant in relation to the allegations. She stated that she had not been threatened by her husband over the past month and a half.